News Main Menu

Tim McNellis

Tim McNellis

Despite what Pennsylvania folklore would lead you to believe, the apples you know and love don't come directly from seeds.

"Plant a Golden Delicious seed and you won't get a Golden Delicious tree," says Tim McNellis, assistant professor of plant pathology at Penn State. Too much genetic variability lurks inside the seed. Instead of a prized lineage, you're likely to get a version of the infamous crab apple, the "mutt" of the apple world.